


What To Expect

by thelilacfield



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-23
Updated: 2016-05-23
Packaged: 2018-06-10 05:48:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6942298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelilacfield/pseuds/thelilacfield
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With the threat of Thanos bearing down and the Avengers called back together, the visit of Scott's daughter to the compound leaves most members of the team reeling, and a young girl living out a dream of meeting her hero.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What To Expect

**A/N:** This is a sequel to my fic [One More Song Before I Go](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6905365), but can be read as a stand-alone if you assume an established relationship for all mentioned couples and know that Team Cap plus Natasha left for Wakanda after breaching the Raft. Hope you enjoy this shameless fluff :)

* * *

In a matter of weeks, they've gone from fugitives hiding out in the depths of the royal household in the remote African nation of Wakanda to back at the Avengers compound and being begged for their help as a greater threat than ever before approaches the world. It seems like thirty seconds ago they were gathered in T'Challa's quarters listening to the panicked voice coming through the speakers, and now the owner of the panicked voice is calling out instructions and observations through the training simulation. Crouched peacefully on Clint's shoulder, Scott smiles appreciatively as he watches Natasha and Bucky take down a wave of adversaries with nothing more than hand to hand combat and hears Clint chuckle. "They're both spoken for," he says cheerfully, sending an explosive arrow into a group headed straight for them, killing most and nodding to Wanda to take out the rest. "One of them by me, so stop eyeing her up."

"Hey, I'm spoken for too, arrow guy," Scott says, and know that Clint rolls his eyes at the nickname. The blur that is Vision shoots past them, and he leans against Clint's neck and rolls his shoulders, sighing. "At least your girl is here at the compound. Mine is still pissed at me for getting arrested."

Before Clint opens his mouth for a retort, Tony calls, "Time!" from his platform and the simulation fades around them, crawling back into the white walls, and Scott jumps to the floor and grows again, snapping his mask up and watching his teammates doing the same, unzipping tight suits and pulling off helmets, fading back into the people behind the superheroes.

"Good work," Steve says with an approving nod to each member, with a special smile for Bucky. "You're all working together as a team extremely well. Scott, I get the sense you're still holding back. You too, Wanda. We're facing a creature from outer space, much worse than Loki and the Chitauri. This is a serious threat."

"And I seriously need a break," Scott says, and sees the fondness behind Steve's heavy sigh. Spending over a year in exile with someone does mean becoming close friends - perhaps closer than he might necessarily have wanted to be to Captain America. "Can we call it lunchtime?"

"Fine," Steve says. "Hit the showers." He's immediately at Bucky's side, the eye contact painfully real and so tender, and Scott falls back to walk with Thor, as the couples of the team fall into step together.

Sharon has emerged from her office, notified by Tony that their training session was over, and smiles at each of them, moving to Sam's side and kissing him. "Pizza will be here in ten minutes," she says, and rolls her eyes fondly at the enthusiasm of the response. "How was training?"

"Tic Tac over there keeps hanging out on people's shoulders watching instead of fighting," Natasha says with a wink in Scott's direction, and he sighs. If he'd known the nickname would catch on, he would've stopped Sam calling him it a lot sooner. "Otherwise, we're doing pretty well. Maybe if we had several lifetimes we'd be ready to face Thanos."

"Well we only have a couple of months at best," Rhodey says, the voice of reality or doom, depending on who you ask, and a brooding silence descends. "But as long as we keep working, there's untapped potential in all of us." Scott wonders if he's imagining it or if his gaze does rest firmly on Wanda when he says, "Steve sees it."

After a moment, Clint turns on the radio to mask the tension, and Scott turns to his phone where it's been waiting on the counter since they were called to training - Tony says it screws up the technology of the simulator. He might be one of a few of their team trying to carry on a relationship with someone outside of the team, but Sam's girlfriend works and lives in the compound too and Thor isn't the greatest partner for complaining about long-distance relationships. And none of the rest of his teammates have children.

**From: Maggie**

**Cassie loved the toys - where did you manage to find bears dressed like the Avengers? But she misses you.**

**From: Hope**

**I still have your record player. Will you ever pick it up and move it to the Avengers compound?**

**To: Maggie**

**That's great! I know a guy who knows the owner of a toy factory, got them custom-made for her. Since she loves them so much. Give her a hug from me.**

"You okay, Lang?" Clint asks from his perch on the counters, Natasha next to him as she always is.

"Just missing my family," Scott sighs, collapsing onto the couch and reaching for the TV remote. "And my girlfriend sounds mad at me for not seeing her before we came here."

Thankfully, the pizza delivery stops deep, emotional conversation for the time being, as they're all occupied with eating and half-watching the episodes of an old sitcom playing over the screen. Steve and Bucky join them after around twenty minutes, Steve's face set and solemn, and he raps a hand on the table for their attention. "As much as I'd like to pretend that this is like the old fights, I can't," he says, and the air takes on a sadness that is becoming part of Scott's life, being around these people with unhealed scars and so much misery in their history. "Thanos is like nothing we've ever fought - I'm not even completely sure we _can_ fight him. We can try, but this might be a fight that we have to make sacrifices to win. I'm very aware that you're all laying down your lives for this fight, and that a lot of us are going to leave people we care about behind if we get killed." Scott stares down at his slice of pizza, suddenly no longer hungry, throat closing up at the thought of leaving his family behind. "I want to give everyone a chance to say goodbye, properly. So, it's been decided that anyone who wants to can invite guests to the compound for a day or two to see them before Thanos arrives and we have to fight."

**To: Hope**

**You can bring it yourself, babe - you're coming to visit me, and you're bringing Cassie. Captain's orders.**

* * *

Scott is pacing around the kitchen in wide, disorganised spirals, fingers flickering with nervous energy, and Natasha's arm bars his way when he makes for the coffee machine. "No more," she says in her commander voice, the one she usually only uses on the battlefield. "You're making the rest of us nervous, and we're not even having visitors."

"I am excited to meet your child!" Thor booms, clapping a hand on Scott's shoulder that sends him off balance. He smiles weakly, and shoots to the front of the compound when he hears Sharon's clear voice over the radio link, welcoming the helicopter into landing.

Smoothing his shirt with shaking hands, Scott watches the blades of the helicopter slow and finally come to a halt, trying to squint through the blacked-out windows, and holds his breath as the door slowly opens. "Daddy!" comes the shriek, and the tiny blonde tearaway that is his daughter runs across the lawn into his arms, and he definitely doesn't cry. Doesn't even tear up as he presses his face into her hair. "I missed you, Daddy."

"Missed you too, peanut," he says softly, and sits back on his haunches, looking into Cassie's brown eyes and smiling helplessly. He feels himself light up when Hope steps out of the helicopter, and Cassie giggles when he sweeps his girlfriend into a kiss, feeling her smile against his mouth. When she breaks away, running a hand through her hair and biting her lip to control her grin, he breathes, "Missed you, babe," and she smacks at him.

When he turns his gaze to Cassie, she's staring at the entrance to the compound with wide eyes, clutching at her toy - the old rabbit he gave her before the mess of becoming a superhero began, even uglier than he remembers - and he turns around to see Wanda waiting for them, looking uncertain but trying to smile reassuringly. "Do you know who she is, peanut?" he asks Cassie, and she looks up at him with the panicked eyes of a child out of their depth. "You want to meet her?" She nods vigorously, and he beckons Wanda over.

Bending down to Cassie's level, Wanda swallows and smiles sweetly - the kind of smile usually reserved for Vision, in those sickeningly adorable moments when they make eye contact and the team reacts across the spectrum from eye-rolling to pantomime vomiting noises - and softly says, "I'm Wanda. What's your name?"

"I'm Cassie," she says, her voice soft and shy. Holding up her bunny by the arm, she says "This is Mr. Snugglepuff. And that's Hope, she kisses my daddy a lot." Wanda laughs as Scott drops his head into his hands, and Cassie tilts her head and asks, "Can you really make things fly?"

"Can I try it with Mr. Snugglepuff?" Wanda asks, and Cassie holds the bunny out. Wanda's eyes flare red, the scarlet mist winding around her fingers, and Cassie watches with wide eyes as the bunny starts to rise, floating towards the sky, and shrieks with excitement, grinning from ear to ear. Dropping the toy back into Cassie's arms, Wanda stands and asks, "Do you want to meet the other Avengers?" and Cassie nods eagerly, grabbing Wanda's outstretched hand and following along behind her, chattering nineteen to the dozen.

"Unbelievable," Scott says as he and Hope follow, Cassie's voice carrying through the corridors of the compound. "I haven't seen her in two years, she hugs me for a minute and then she's off with Wanda."

Grinning, Hope says, "All she talked about the whole journey was meeting Scarlet Witch. Let her have some fun." Her eyes darken, and she lowers her voice as she adds, "Maggie and I agreed we can't tell her how much risk there is in what you're doing. We don't want to upset her." Scott nods, teeth gritted, and smiles again when they reach the kitchen and find Cassie stopped completely, eyes impossibly wide as she takes in the scene. Bruce, Thor, Natasha and Clint are all calmly occupying the kitchen, smiling at her, and Scott leans down to gently nudge her forward, knowing how much she likes the Avengers.

"Why aren't you green?" she asks, pointing at Bruce, and Clint chokes a little on his coffee, Bruce only taken aback for a moment before answering.

"I'm only green when I need to fight," he says, eyes kind, but Cassie still looks at him suspiciously. "You're not a threat, are you?"

"No!" Cassie tosses her hair and folds her arms, staring Bruce down, and Scott grins as Natasha has to duck behind a counter to hide her laughter. "I'm always a good girl." She turns to Thor, head tilted all the way back to look up at his face, and says, "Your hair is pretty." Scott is definitely struggling to keep a straight face as Cassie points at Clint and says, "You have coffee on your shirt," and finally breaks him.

"Precocious little thing you've got there, Scott," Clint observes with one eyebrow raised, and Cassie beams up at him, seizing Wanda's hand again. "Anyone else you want to meet, kiddo? Maybe Wanda's boyfriend, since she's your favourite?"

"You have a boyfriend?" Cassie asks accusingly, looking up at Wanda with a scowl that has Natasha hiding her face again, shoulders heaving with laughter. "But boys are gross!"

Smiling very sweetly, Wanda says, "I know, sweetie, I have to live with your dad," and winks up at Scott's mock-offended expression, and even Bruce is laughing. "Why don't we go see if anyone else is around? I'm not sure if maybe some people are training." Beaming, Cassie follows Wanda out of the kitchen, and Natasha emerges pink-cheeked and starry-eyed from behind the counter.

"Scott, your daughter is the best person I've ever met," she says, and Scott fakes a humble shrug. Brushing her hair behind her ears, Natasha extends a hand to Hope and says, "Normally I'm more professional, but I've been compromised by those comments. Natasha Romanoff."

"Hope Van Dyne." The two women shake hands, and Scott exchanges a wide-eyed glance with Clint. "Cassie's been a big fan of the Avengers for a while, Scarlet Witch is her favourite. I'm afraid she'll be very disappointed that her role model has a boyfriend."

"I wouldn't worry about it," Clint says bracingly, sliding an arm around Natasha's waist and planting a kiss on her cheek, smiling politely at Hope. "Technically speaking, Vision isn't entirely human, so he's not the gross boy Cassie would hate."

"I remember those stories," Hope says, nudging Scott and grinning at him. "Scott had a lot of complaints about the way they got together and Wanda's behaviour for a few days."

"Well you couldn't get any sense out of her!" Scott exclaims, and Natasha and Hope exchange a look that cannot mean good things. "She was just floating around the place sighing all the time."

"According to Tony, Vision was just as bad," Bruce says, helping himself to several cookies and smiling at Hope. "Which is even more surprising considering he's not technically human."

"Love comes to us all," Thor says sagely, and they all simply nod, knowing the truth of that statement.

Pressing her lips against Scott's jaw, Hope leans up and says, "I'll go watch Cassie, make sure she doesn't wreak havoc on your teammates," and Scott grins to himself at the thought of his daughter tearing the facility apart worse than any supervillain.

As the door closes on Hope, another open and Tony and Rhodes emerge, Tony glancing around the room with something strange behind his eyes. "Where's your kid, Lang?" he asks, and Natasha rolls her eyes. "Don't start with me, Romanoff. You know how I feel about kids."

"Sure, you'll be Iron Man, fight aliens, fight robots, fight weird supersoldiers, no problem there," Rhodes drawls, grinning at the look Tony gives him. "But put anyone younger than a teenager in front of him and he's running scared."

"You'll be fine, Stark," Scott says, raising an eyebrow and smirking. "She's not an Iron Man fan." Clint laughs, Natasha grins and Bruce hides a smile in his coffee mug as Tony glares across the room at Scott.

"I still like you, Lang," Rhodes says with a grin, and Tony sighs heavily as he turns to leave the room again, doubtlessly going back to his study to work on some new piece of revolutionary tech meant to help them defeat Thanos.

* * *

Apparently there's nothing quite like an impending visit from a team member's child to spread the Avengers out across the compound. Normally on a day without scheduled team training most of them would spend it in their rooms, maybe going for a drive in the surrounding greenery, but today they could be acting up for the filming of an advertising campaign for joining the team. They come across Steve and Bucky first, the couple curled up in one of the smaller sitting areas, holding hands and talking quietly, and Cassie tilts her head curiously at Bucky's arm, the dark vibranium gleaming in the overhead light. Steve notices them first, and smiles warmly, bending down to Cassie's level and saying, "You must be Scott's daughter. I'm Steve."

"You're Captain America," Cassie says, and Steve nods. "I'm Cassie." Pointing at Bucky, who looks as wary as Tony did when Scott first announced his daughter was coming to visit, she asks, "Is he your boyfriend?" and Wanda tries not to laugh. Perhaps they should've brought a child in when they first returned from Wakanda, and everything was tense and cold and every conversation burning with the words that were going unsaid.

"This is Bucky," Steve says, his eyes softening as he holds out a hand and Bucky joins them, Cassie staring up at him with a smile at the corners of her mouth. "Bucky, this is Cassie." Though obviously uncomfortable, Bucky gives Cassie a smile that offers some glimpse of the man he was before, and she grins back, eyes bright.

"I like your arm," she says, gently patting the metal, and Bucky just looks amazed. "Does it do anything special? Do you have a mask? Can I wear it?" Bucky's eyes just grow wider with every question, and Wanda smiles at the girl with her enthusiasm and complete lack of fear towards any of them - it makes a nice change. Hearing her laugh, Cassie looks up at her - it makes her heart clench seeing a child look at her that way, like she's never been dangerous or feared, like she's everything - and asks, "Can Bucky come with us?"

Bucky smiles and takes Cassie's hand, saying, "I'd love that," and making her beam and giggle, grabbing Wanda's hand too and leading them authoritatively further into the compound. "You know what we should do?" Bucky asks, and Cassie shakes her head. "You want to see inside the Avengers' bedrooms, Cassie?"

She squeals excitedly in reply, and Bucky opens the door to his and Steve's room, Cassie's expression filled with awe as she looks around with the kind of reverence none of them expected to see in their visitor. They expected a child like Scott, goofy and just wanting to see her father before they went to war, but Scott never did much to warn them that Cassie is actually a fan of them all. Bucky follows her around the room, telling her the stories behind some of the photographs and pointing to the drawings from children that wind their way to the compound, and she is chattering about her own artwork, and telling him her pencils are in her suitcase and she could do drawings too if he wanted, and Wanda leans against the doorframe and watches them, a kind of sadness setting into her smile. It hasn't been far from any of their minds how few of them have someone to invite to the compound for a last visit, and it's been a haunting fact that Scott is the only one in a team of twelve with a child. With Cassie racing around the compound, a bright ball of energy with a smile for everyone, she can feel the stirrings of envy in the minds of her teammates, most of them resigned to never having that kind of life. Certainly not with the war bearing down on them.

"You wanna see her room?" Bucky asks when Cassie is finished admiring every photograph and drawing and bouncing on the bed and looking at the books, and she nods eagerly. Instead of taking his hand, she scrambles onto his back, and Wanda tries not to laugh at the sight of her teammate with a child clutching onto his shoulders, Bucky smiling softly and jogging her into a more comfortable position.

When Cassie jumps down to investigate Wanda's room, he turns to her and asks, "Did Scott tell you his kid is your biggest fan?" She shakes her head, and he grins, watching Cassie move around the room with an expression of utter awe firmly in place. "It's cute. Funny that she likes you and me and not Steve."

"She is clearly Scott's child," Wanda says dryly, and Bucky laughs, a soft breath of a sound that would make Steve smile if he was here with them. "Any idea where the rest of the team are?"

"Tony's hiding out in his workshop with some project. Sam took Sharon out for lunch, they should be back soon. Natasha, Clint, Bruce and Thor are all hanging out. I'd guess Scott is with his girlfriend now we've got Cassie. God knows where your boyfriend is, being able to walk through walls and all."

"I wanna meet them all!" Cassie shouts, leaping off the bed and rushing to their sides again. "I met Hulk and Hawkeye and Black Widow and Thor, but I wanna meet the rest! I wanna meet all the people who can fly!" Bucky and Wanda exchange a look over her head, and lead her off to search the rest of the compound for the members of their team she hasn't managed to meet yet.

* * *

Flipping through the selection of movies for something appropriate to watch as the kitchen fills the the scent of whatever Vision is cooking - apparently it just wasn't acceptable to order in again, Sharon told them so very sternly - Scott can't help the smile when he hears Cassie's high-pitched voice echoing in from the corridors, and starts laughing when she arrives, leading Bucky and Wanda by the hands and trailing Steve, Sam and Thor, all five of them festooned in daisy chains. "You have a fun day, peanut?" he asks as his daughter scrambles across the room to hug him.

"The best time ever!" she shrieks. "The Avengers are so nice, did you know that, Daddy?" Sam is openly laughing, twirling a daisy chain around his wrist and gravitating towards Sharon, curled up on the couch next to Bruce and tapping at her laptop. "They showed me their bedrooms and the swimming pool and it was so _cool_! And Sam showed me his wings, and he did all these flips when he was flying, and he lifted me a little bit and I saw all the way to the city!"

"Wow, sounds like they've all been really nice to you," Scott says, and smiles around at his teammates. "Did you say thank you?"

"Of course she did, she's a lovely kid," Bucky says, and Cassie beams up at him, bringing Scott up short with surprise. But then, Cassie is his daughter - of course she wants to spend her time at the Avengers compound with Scarlet Witch and the Winter Soldier, rather than anyone as obvious as Captain America. Wanda and Bucky have the most daisy chains too, perfectly made and covering their arms and necks and crowning their heads, and Scott hears the clicking of a camera behind him, Natasha laughing, and Rhodes is grinning when he turns to look at them.

"Would someone go and inform Mr. Stark that dinner will be ready soon?" Vision asks, and Thor marches proudly out of the room, Cassie staring after him with stars in her eyes.

She stares at Vision for a moment, her brow furrowed, and then tugs Wanda down to ask, "Is that your boyfriend?" in a carrying whisper, most of the occupants of the room smiling at the gaze that passes between Vision and Wanda, one they're all very used to, reminiscent of when they became an actual couple rather than a pair of mutual crushes. Smiling, Wanda crosses the room to kiss him, and Bucky pantomimes a disgusted expression down at Cassie, another series of photographs being taken as she giggles and sticks her tongue out at him, the laughter filling the room with the sound of joy, something not often heard in the compound lately.

Dinner is a happy, almost familiar affair, with _Mulan_ playing in the background and Cassie rapt with attention as she watches the team interacting, asking the occasional question and listening eagerly to the stories. With Hope next to him, close enough that he can lean over to kiss her whenever he wants to, and Clint and Natasha curled up together across the table, Thor telling a likely exaggerated story about his Asgard days that has most of the table laughing, Scott lets himself soak up the contentment of the moment, fully aware that it soon might be taken from him but pushing the thought to the back of his mind. He lets himself feel smug, too, that he finally gets to be one half of a couple at the table, not just making faces with Rhodes at the long gazes and lovesick smiles of other pairs.

Eyes snap to Wanda when Cassie tugs on her sleeve and asks, "Are you in love with your boyfriend?" Wanda smiles and nods in reply, and Cassie asks, "Is he going to be your husband?" Tony chokes on his drink slightly, Sam giving him an almighty whack across the shoulders in lieu of helping, and Wanda appears momentarily speechless. In a flurry of blurred movement, Vision is gone from the table, and the circle exchanges wary looks.

Natasha is grinning, and Scott murmurs, "Do you know something again?" She looks up at him and winks, and Clint mouths _She knows everything_ across the table as Tony clears his throat and starts up some discussion about Disney films that Cassie weighs in on enthusiastically, eagerly launching into a performance of _Let It Go_. Hope is filming, smiling, and Scott is taken aback when Bruce joins in with quiet singing, much to Cassie's delight.

"Keep the camera rolling," Natasha says out of the corner of her mouth to Hope as Vision reappears, and confused looks are exchange around the table. Natasha obviously has an idea of what is going on, and by extension Clint, and the moment he sees the look in Vision's eyes it snaps into Scott's mind too, recognising that face, and he can feel his smile growing wider.

Clearing his throat, obviously nervous, unaware of comprehension dawning on several faces and the eager way much of the team leans forward, Vision is taking Wanda's hands in his and smiling, and Tony is lifting his phone too, mumbling about the potential of a viral video, and Natasha is snapping a picture, smiling to herself. "Miss Maximoff, I..." The silence is tight with tension, anticipation lingering on the air like electricity, but Vision seems at a complete loss for words, anxiously turning a box over and over between his hands, and Tony rolls his eyes, mercifully unnoticed by either member of the couple all their attention is on.

"Vizh, let me," Wanda says, soft and sweet, and Scott's gaze strays to Cassie for a moment, and she's amazed and clutching her hands together, smiling. "You're my best friend here, you're the one I always want to see first when I come home from missions, and I love you so much. It means everything to me that I can be back here with you now, and if that's what I have for the rest of my life then I'll always be happy. And maybe this is rushed, but in our lives we have to grab happiness when it's staring in the face and not wait around for years before doing anything about it. So just ask me."

"Precisely what I was going to say, love," Vision says, his smile so loving and his gaze never straying from Wanda's, and the attention of every member of the team is rapt as their friend goes to one knee. "Will you marry me?"

"Absolutely," Wanda says through a blindingly bright smile, and throw her arms around him, and Scott laughs as Cassie scrambles to stand on her chair, clapping, and Clint starts a round of cheering loud enough to drown out the movie they've been half-watching. Natasha stands and reaches into a cupboard for a bottle of champagne, the cork shooting across the room with a loud bang that does nothing to distract the newly-engaged couple from each other.

Tony sniffs as he accepts his glass of champagne, and Natasha asks, "Tony, are you crying?" to raucous laughter and a glare from wet eyes.

"No," Tony snap immediately, dabbing at his eyes with the edge of his sleeve. "I'm allergic to obnoxious public displays of affection."

"You're a liar, you're crying!" Cassie shouts, and Bucky grins at her, hugging her into his side and releasing her in time for Vision and Wanda to finally break apart, the simple silver ring now gracing her hand gleaming in the light.

Breathless and smiling helplessly, Wanda turns to Cassie and says, "Yes, he's going to be my husband," and the table breaks out in laughter, Hope ending the recording and squeezing Scott's hand tightly, and Steve stands at the head of the table, glass held aloft.

"To happiness," he says, and they all raise their glasses, the light illuminating bright eyes and unguarded smiles. "May we all find it." He drains his glass as they repeat the toast, and leans into Bucky's side when he sits back down, open affection ruling the room.

 


End file.
